Staff at Albany Hospital are fatigued, the head of the region's health department has conceded.
The comments by WA Country Health Service regional director Geraldine Ennis follow a public forum hosted by the state opposition in Albany on Thursday.
The forum raised concerns about staffing, bed levels, and culture at the hospital.
In an interview with ABC Great Southern, Ms Ennis said the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic had put pressure on staff.
"I think we've been in a state of flux probably for the last 21 months with the pandemic, and that I think the staff are fatigued and I think they are doing an amazing job in quite difficult circumstances," she said.
Ms Ennis said fatigue and pressure were felt across the WA health system.
"There's enormous pressures on all hospitals, not only in Albany but in WA," she said.
Ms Ennis said hitting the state's vaccination target of 90 per cent would help ease the load on hospitals.
Albany's first-dose vaccination rate sits at 85.4 per cent, with the second-dose rate 71.8 per cent out of an eligible population of 31,107.
"If we can get the vaccination rate … up to 90 per cent, the borders will open. That will allow us to get more staff not only into the Great Southern but into WA," she said.
Major hospital redevelopment in pipeline
In response to bullying allegations raised at the forum, Ms Ennis said there were procedures in place to dealt with complaints.
"We take allegations of bullying quite seriously. We have very robust HR processes to deal with that," she said.
"Any workplace with close to 1,000 employees will have problems from time to time. We have an open-door policy, people can come to me."
Ms Ennis said the hospital was working on a redevelopment plan to help cater for the city's growing population.
"There's been unprecedented demand on our services. That has made us look about at what we need to do moving forward," she said.
"Do we have enough beds? Should we be looking at a redevelopment? We're planning for another major redevelopment."
